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Harvest of Fear Jeramiah Arkham, Jonathan Crane, Hugo Strange and co. Reopen Arkham Asylum as a plan to deal with the supervillains post Joker's two attacks. Though their claims of adequate mental health treatment appease the public (though it will slowly become a lock 'em away approach) Batman is weary, having tangoed with Hugo Strange now twice. As it turns out, the doctors are more so experimenting on the patients for their own gains (Hugo for Titan) and Batman, though he wants to disregard the villains to the fate they deserve, knows that some of them have a chance for redemption and it's still not right to let them die. Crane is trying to use the Joker to determine how a person can be fearless and what mania and trauma can cause this, or Firefly and how phobia becomes philia. Batman caught in the facility by Crane, and offering him a tour, which has quite a tension. He showcases the interesting psyches of the patients as mentioned above, how this could be the birthplace to a higher understanding of the mind. Even Hugo welcomes Batman, saying that he can catch them and they can fix them. When the system accepts him this much it's not a good thing. Batman is suspicious of Crane, the Scarecrow maybe having shown up or being crafted to scare Batman, and Crane was thrown out of GU, the professors died, BTAS episode, Batman largely expects Crane is Scarecrow but can't confirm after having faced both of them. Either Scarecrow doesn't have the fear gas in the earlier encounters and must rely on theatrics in the case of Batman, or he does have it, but it's only because he can trigger Batman's inner fears, but his true motive is to succeed in making Batman fear'' him''. The story overall opens with Crane interviewing criminals he had historically been appointed to assess, (though only as a source of income-- he's a hard man and had little minding for the job) men in whom he typically has little interest, save for his studies in fear-- seeing how their backgrounds related to the fears they experience-- relating their fears of Batman. Crane becomes intrigued when every single criminal he interviews shoes a fear of Batman. How does he accomplish this? Likely through elaborate ruses and suggestions under fear gas. The most basic, primal way to make someone fear you is to cause harm to their physical self. Scarecrow can do this by physically torturing Batman, or, by destroying the image of the Batman in front of him-- seeing corpses of various individuals dressed as him and disparaging his imagery. Perhaps Crane can have him run through a maze where at every dead end there is a false deceased Batman. Crane can destroy his self image but also his hopes. He can make him witness the false death of not-Commissioner Gordon (trying to actually kidnap and kill Gordon would lead the police to him, and he can't have that) and maybe we get a Clarice Starling-style side story of Gordon trying to track Crane down the save Batman, and ultimately arriving there to give a triumphant Batman some backup. In the end, Batman is hit with fear gas once again, and on the verge of seeing Scarecrow as his greatest fear as Crane watches with glee-- but he takes back the narrative with the iconic quote. He turns the fear gas on Crane, Crane sees the giant Bat demon and shits himself, and Batman breaks his shackles, literally and metaphorically, and beats Scarecrow. Gordon arrives and helps the weakend Batman out of Crane manor and puts Crane in the back seat as the two drive off in the squad car. At his instruction, Gordon takes him to Leslie Thompkins to be treated, and she can contact Alfred. Perhaps Gordon and Alfred meet here and Gordon pretends he doesn't know him. Here we see that Batman in spite of his broken spirit, ultimately triumphs, but that he needs allies like Gordon, Alfred, Leslie, and Robin and that no man is truly an island. Just think how much easier this story would have been if there had been a Robin or Nightwing looking for him? And even if it's not an easy answer to have a child sidekick, it's necessary to train him to be equal support in adulthood. Which is why Red Hood should begin as Batman's worst nightmare, everything he tried to trust backfiring into turning into an unstoppable weapon. But love prevails. Crane's motive is to find how the Apex predators became Apex, and how the Batman was able to scare him-- why he was effective-- he largely expects fear-- and if he can become the new Apex predator by scaring the Batman. How are one's personal fears used to scare others? One by one, all of the initial Arkham staff end up insane or incapacitated some how; Crane at the end of the story, Quincy later on, Jeremiah in Rebirth era as Black Mask, etc... Lock-Up, Frank Boles, and Aaron Cash Gun control, authoritarianism vs libertarianism, corruption of institution inherent Batman’s initial true fear, as exposed by Scarecrow, is being helpless. All the training he’s gone through, all the studying and all the gadgets might help to make him a great crime fighter, but the reality is he betters himself to escape the same feeling of helplessness that was created by the murder of his parents. That’s why he fights crime. Of course to stop it from happening to someone else, but because he can’t escape that terror from being unable to stop the murder of his parents. But eventually, his fear will become either failing to save someone else (maybe within this same first sequence) and then eventually losing the Robins. Imagine it’s he’s on is first night as the Batman (though in this nightmare, he’s in full costume) and he attacks the criminals, but they easily get the better of him; pulling him down by the cape, hitting him with a pipe, etc, in spite of all his gadgets. This idea came to me when seeeing a video of the man who made the real life Batman armor and all the gadgets, and thinking that he basically could fight crime in that, but then imagining how he would fare without any training. this owuld tie into the image of dead Batmen. Crane understands it. Scene: Long Halloween "The Scarecrow was soon recruited into a gang of super-villains led by Two-Face to battle Carmine Falcone's criminal empire. The group was also responsible for the Columbus Day Massacre of Gotham's mob bosses. The team disbanded after a battle with The Hangman and the battle at the Batcave with the newly-formed Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin." The Legion of Doom A Nightmare in Gotham: Masters of Fear Joker's Asylum Hell's Asylum After being attacked by Killer Croc, he wanders the sewers and underbelly of Arkham. Batman is at this point suffering the fear toxin, Scarecrow's last stand (blimp) Crawl back and death by Red Hood When Luthor became the President of The United States of America, Crane attempted to use their professional history to attain a position in Luthor's cabinet, perhaps as the Secretary of Agriculture. Luthor remembered Crane's betrayal years prior, and also was conscious of not immediately filling his cabinet with too many "former" super villains (Secretary of Defense Slade Wilson, ((Dan Crenshaw)), Secretary of the Navy David Hyde..) and elected to deny Crane's request. Feeling merciful, Luthor decided not immediately have Crane executed, as a professional courtesy. Now living under near-police rule in Gotham, with a zero-tolerance policy for super-crime, Crane frailly attempted to pursue his continued research in secret. When the Red Hood usurped control of crime and fought the law in Gotham (almost Year One on steroids style,) Crane swore allegiance to Todd to ensure his survival. Todd used Crane's fear gas in his war on crime, and later dispatched him to neutralize Mother Panic by returning to the Scarecrow identity. When Crane returned empty handed, he knew he would be short on this Earth. Desperate and pathetic, Crane begged Todd for his life. Todd callously shot him through the skull, ending the reign of the Scarecrow. Antecedents of Fear (beyond) Years after his death, Crane's identity would be revived by Adalyn Stern, who had witnessed the Batman beat down her father, a gang leader, and was traumatized as a result. Under the care of a DISCIPLE OF CRANE (did he train other criminal scientists or just hire bricks?) her trauma was amplified to fear the legacy of the Batman. To overcome her fears, she would use the identity of the Scarecrow (at the instruction of the doctor Moustapha character) to defeat the Batman and overcome her fears. She was also somehow a co-anchor with an aging Jack Ryder. Undercover In order to fully understand the Batman and his methodology, Bane would have to observe him first hand. Posing as a passive mute, under forged documents Bane was admitted to Arkham Asylum upon its reopening, under the pseudonym Antonio Diego, colloquially referred to as Patient X. Jason Takes Gotham = Knightfall Knightsquest Knightsend Secret Six Joker's Asylum I Am Bane Bane attempts to use the Psycho Pirate's emotion manipulation powers to cure him of his emotional trauma. However, at this point, Batman needs the Psycho Pirate to save Gotham Girl from her distress. At the humiliation Batman suffers upon him, Bane sets out to prove to Batman that he is forever his greatest nemesis. He breaks his sons, he breaks his marriage, and he breaks his father. But he can't break him. Sins of the Father Bane confronts an aging, Dolph Lungdren esque King Snake. And kills him by crushing his head between his hands. Somewhen between the events of this and Beyond, Bane abandons crime, having accrued enough capital, and seeking some repentance for his sins, begins to participate in charitable causes. Beyond An old Bane uses his wealth to be treated in a high-end care facility as he withers away from the extreme strain caused on his body by the venom and titan. g g g a t Dark Moon Rising Hugo Strange is working toward the Titan formula, which he will eventually manipulate his protoge Penny Young into finding the solution, which will be exploited by the Joker while Hugo moved onto the Arkham City plan. At this time Hugo is trying to create the Monster Men so as to have something marketable to the Underworld. For the man who has every thing, so to speak.￼ Strange Days Batman disrupts the Fish sting operation, pissing off Sergeant Max Cort. After his near-defeat at Batman's hands, Hugo became infatuated with the mythic figure. Seeking both to understand and to obliterate his newfound foe, Strange pulled strings to gain a seat on a talk show with Mayor Wilson Klass and police Captain James Gordon to address the benefit of The Batman, in wake of the Joker crisis. Strange postulates that the Batman is a product of trauma, and uses the costume and violence to give him a sense of power over others and his reality. Klass agrees, but Gordon argues that Batman is a hero, honestly trying to help his city, and that he wears the costume to intimidate criminals. Klass calls for a vigilante task force, and appoints Strange as a consultant, as well as giving him full access to police records, which he will use in his work in determining the Batman's identity (GORDON MUST BURN FILES FROM THE BOUNTY) Under Strange's influence, Klass puts together the task force, and in an attempt to dissuade its progress, Gordon has it headed by unstable and violent, though clean cop Max Cort. However, Cort is successful after appointing cops not approved by Gordon, and his force corner Batman in a face off with Fish, allowing Fish to escape. duuududududu kidnaps the mayor's daughter. Infatuation thing. persuades Max Cort to become Night-Scourge. Then to become Batman. None of it traces back to him. Uses Max's apartment to keep Katherine. Harvest of Fear Strange's next course of action would be to assimilate in effort with the likes of fellow psychologist-psychiatrists Jeramiah Arkham, Jonathan Crane, Karl Heffren, Achilles Milo and Emil Dorian. Joined together my Strange, at his suggestion, the group put forth a solution in the wake of the Joker's two terror attacks, as well as the origin of other super villains. The group, with the approval of the interim mayor (after Klass' resignation after his daughter's kidnapping,) and the police Commissioner, would seek to modernize and re-open Arkham Asylum. With Hugo in the good graces of the public, he would be the mouthpiece as Jermiah and chairman Quincy Sharp worked to make the legal pushes to reopen the asylum. Secretly, Strange, Crane, Hefren, Milo, and Dorian used the patients as a venue to test their own experiments, each gradually becoming aware of the work of the others, and agreeing not to compromise. As Batman began to investigate the mad doctors, Jonathan Crane laid out his plan to dominate the Batman in a war of fear. Though Strange still carried his obsession for Batman, after his latest near defeat, thought it wise to play the long game. During this time, Batman was able to bring down or bust Heffren, Milo, and Dorian, the cautious Strange managed to stay one step ahead of the Caped Crusader. Strange experimented solely on forgotten transfers from nearby centers, working in an effort to slowly perfect his Monster Men formula. This time, to become a physical match for the Batman-- to Become the Batman. Ultimately, he would once again try to make an army of monsters. He would not be caught by Batman at the end of the story, as each of the non-verbal inmates would return to their normal states for some time. Romulus was there for wellness After having created and lost Tygrus for the Mad Monk, Dorian works with Milo to create a serum that will turn Anthony Romulus into a Werewolf. Joker's Asylum Arkham City Sum of all Fears Battle of the Bats I Am Bane Ten Night of the Beast An agent for a remaining sleeper cell of the KGB, Anatoli Knyazev answered directly to Vladimir Putin. At one point, he was tasked with assassinating the U.S. President. Attempting to do so in Gotham City would put KGBeast in conflict with the city's protector, The Batman. The two engaged in several battles over the course of ten nights, with Batman nearly capturing the beast at one point. In order to evade entrapment, KGBeast used an axe to severe the arm trapped by Batman's batrope and escape. With said arm replaced with a multi-functional firearm prosthetic, Beast would once again fight Batman and nearly best him. Realizing his diplomatic immunity would allow him to eventually be freed and return to attack Americans, a more brutal Batman, in the wake of Jason Todd's death, elected to lock the Beast in a sewer basement and leave him for dead. Only later did Batman reveal his location to the police. Red Hood in Russia After being rescued from the sewer basement, The KGBeast returned home to Russia in shame. The embarrassment of being defeated by the Batman, who was not even a government agent or contract killer, was enough for the government to sever all ties with him, resulting in his retreating into the Russian-Siberian wilderness. It was during his exile that Knayzev was approached by the now-free Jason Todd to train him in the craft of killing. With the help of his prior proteges, NKVDemon and SVRmiger, The Beast agreed to train the young man to fulfill his vengeance. Trains Jason Todd to become a John Wick-style killer. Knightfall Tim Drake business After his expulsion and the successful training of the Red Hood, The Beast was inspired to become a contract killer, crossing paths, ironically, with Jason Todd's successor, TIm Drake, the third Robin. Secret Six Like Bane, he is recruited or weighed as a candidate for this team. He cannot be in the Suicide Squad because the American government has no jurisdiction over him. That's kind of the whole fucking point of the character. I Am Bane Hired by Bane, or is he, KGBeast is hired to shoot Nightwing in the head. His orders, specifically, to avoid killing him, but to put him in a coma or other dis-associative state. But, in the Beast's own words, "If he dies, he dies." Left Home Alone in his youth? Dark Moon Rising In the midst of The Mad Monk mystery, The Riddler attempts to unveil his challenge to Gotham's crusader. Riddler had planned to challenge Batman to a public game of wits with other Gotham notables. after noticing a strange wave length in the web, Riddler hacked into Batman's communication line (with Alfred,) and challenged him. Having no time to deal with him, Batman instead counter-doxxed Riddler and sent the information to the authorities. Unintentionally, Riddler's actions would only cause Batman to bolster his security and route communications through the deep web. Nigma received a knock on his door from a GCPD officer. When the officer broke down the door, he was instantly hit in the face with a trap mallet and sent through the door parallel. As his he had been squatting in the tenement, Nigma was able to escape the building undetected. Strange Days Incensed that Batman had blocked his plan, Riddler devised a new scheme to prove his superior intellect to all of Gotham. In the past, Gotham's police department utilized blimps to maintain a watchful eye over street crime. Through research, Nigma became aware of Professor Flakey's aerodynamic research field outside of Gotham. via hacking, Riddler duped the absent-minded professor into commissioning the crafting of a blimp. Riddler would fly the green dirigible, adorned with a screen in the shape of a question mark, over the skies of Gotham. Here, he would challenge Batman with a riddle until said riddle was solved, a bank's assets would be shredded. Over the course of the story, Batman is meant to believe that since the blimp is flying, it must be the man in the blimp programming the riddles and the only way to access them is to take out the man in the blip, which he eventually takes care of, delayed because of his inaccessibility. But later Batman finds out that no one is in the blimp, or at least a henchmen, with drones going to it to keep it fueled. Riddler is either pinging in the riddles, or he is pinging them to a henchman, or both, in which case, there's a dual encryption.... Batman was underestimated by the Riddler and he solves his plan. The Man Who Laughs At this time Riddler is being processed just as Joker is on deck for his trial... who knows... Joker is on trial at the beginning of the Man Who Laughs, and being processed through the events of Strange Days... in TMWL Riddler is now being processed. There's maybe a little delay to HoF so they both go past trial and duh duh duh duh duh duh Harvest of Fear Riddler is in the Arkham initial group Long Halloween When in Rome The Legion of Doom Along with fellow mastermind Batman rogue Scarecrow, Joker's Asylum Family Nam Born in 1951-- with parental consent, signed up for Vietnam to partake in the Tet offensive in 1968. Is 56 when he takes the Bounty on Batman, and 64 during the war of the gods. By the time Luthor is President and puts him in as Secretary of Defense, he's almost eighty, just as Wilbur Ross, secretary of commerce was. The villager vetran-- an old Nam buddy hired Slade to kill the Viet man who cut off his legs and torched him with a flamethrower. Slade journeys to Vietnam to find little more than a frail old man living in a poor village. Yet it's the same man, and Slade always sees a job through. Lady Shiva approached (not Cain?) Deathstroke before David Cain in the creation of Cassandra as he is almost indisputably the world's greatest assassin. However, he declined violently, as he had no interest in rupturing the lingering integrity of his family He wears the mask for protection, but also so Slade Wilson could live a suburban family life without being legally implicated-- even if he did do jobs for the Pentagon. Slade mandated that his children sign up at seventeen like he did, and, to the outside, they're a proud military family. Slade's relationship with Terra Justice Society 1920s German Expressionistic Late 1930s through Mid 1940s 6'10", 500 lbs lumbering zombie, a state he's been in since he was killed in a weaker form in the twenties or so; now being to strong for a non-super to kill. Late 1940s 6'6", 400 lbs After being killed by Doctor Fate, Grundy comes back with a heightened intelligence and smaller frame, finding his way into a mob as an enforcer, and the quickly using his newfound wit to become the kingpin/don/boss/capo. Heavily inspired by his portrayal in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (James Tucker cartoon.) 1960s Scooby-Doo/Romero 1980s 7'4", 750 lbs Grundy has been killed once more and is once again utterly huge and mentally incompetent and is captured and put into a Supermax prison in the South. For the most part, he is treated as an oddity and kept out of the eyes of most. After being provoked, Grundy causes a riot and escapes. Making his way back to Gotham, he fights Alan Scott twice. The first fight results in Grundy's escape. First his way to the Alan Scott exhibit in the Gotham Museum, Grundy sees the display immortalizing him and sensing a familiarity, changes into those clothes, which are now somehwat oversized. Meeting again in the sewers, Grundy and Scott have a final battle, resulting in Scott punching Grundy's lights out, leaving him wandering in the walled off abandoned subways below Gotham once he resurrects. Think Scooby-Doo movie museum The Bounty 8'6", 960 lbs Grundy would be discovered by Oswald Cobblepot, heir to the disgraced Cobblepot family who had been living in the sewers of Gotham. Appealing to Grundy's loneliness and simple nature, Cobblepot persuaded him to join him. Cobblepot would, surprisingly, treat him fairly well but discard him when no longer necessary. The Crux of Cobblepot's motivation to use Grundy is such. After the wealthy Natalia Nightingale, alias Nocturna, uses her combination of mysterious beauty and wealthy platform. From there, Grundy is Cobblepot's chief of security, as he calls him... Think Super Friends The Long Halloween Super Friends 9'01", 1002 lbs Solomon Grundy is lured to join the Legion of Doom by Lex Luthor, to defeat their enemies, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and company. He worked together with Bizarro, Scarecrow, and Gorilla Grodd, before coming to blows with each. Classic Grundy Rebirth 11'05", 2750 lbs Solomon Grundy has died once again, and this time only grown bigger and badder. He is so big that most of his clothing has ripped to threaderbare; he has no sleeves now. He resembles his Arkham City appearance, but smaller. The Dark Knight Returns 13'07", 5026 lbs Grundy has hit a record for his height, has had his chest cut open, and no longer has a shirt. He is used by the Luthor Presidency as a "natural disaster" weapon, creating the level of damage and no witnesses that can be blamed on tornadoes, and then use this for for Luthor's PR. Arkham City final battle. At this time, though he could he used for this, Red Tornado is used as a "hero" to prevent weather disasters where Luthor doesn't want them. Beyond 6'5", 200 lbs Grundy is now a lean, though strong, and once more intelligent man, after a chaotic beatdown by Batman in the Luthor era. Though not reformed, he has become more reserved and aware, a villain and man who meditates in a Bergmann-esque manner on the pain and nature of existence to perpetually return, not even remembering having loved ones but still bitterly desiring them. The physical imagery of Grundy in "The Batman" as well as some cues from Elias Kingston Cyrus Gold again Grundy with boards of wood and nails and shit embedded in his arms Bat-man and Black Bat lead the league Man-Bat Dark Moon Rising and Harvest of Fear Ivy 5'6" 119 Clayfaces with weaker or less detailed memories have less ability to convincing imitate clothing, and to a lesser extent faces. Karlo and Hagen never had this problem. Milo in Harvest and Serious house Funding war between Blackgate and Arkham after private donations are banned, causing many escapes. Court of Owls vs Birds of Prey? Lady Cain-- Cassandra's younger sister and successor He is used by the Luthor Presidency as a "natural disaster" weapon, creating the level of damage and no witnesses that can be blamed on tornadoes, and then use this for for Luthor's PR. Arkham City final battle. At this time, though he could he used for this, Red Tornado is used as a "hero" to prevent weather disasters where Luthor doesn't want them.